


indecent exposure

by accidental_optimism



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Help, Roommates, Slow Burn, bashful cassian andor, but not too slow bc i'm impatient, i'm still not over this movie, jyn gets an eyeful, living in close proximity means no privacy for our protagonists
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2019-06-06
Packaged: 2019-08-07 22:29:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16417214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/accidental_optimism/pseuds/accidental_optimism
Summary: Jyn's apartment is being sold, and she has three months in which to find another place. Her best friend Cassian offers for her to room with him until she can find a new apartment.The problem? Cassian's flat istiny. Personal space: who is she?The other problem? Jyn is absolutely and totally and completely in love... with Cassian Andor.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> a disclaimer: this is my first jyn/cassian fic so i rlly hope i did them justice!
> 
> i'm thinking this'll be two or three chapters, but i might not stick to that so proceed w caution lol
> 
> anyway, i hope u enjoy!

"...You've got 90 days to find a new apartment."

Jyn blinked. "What?"

Her landlord's voice crackled through the speaker on her shitty landline. "I'm so sorry about this - it's the economy, and everything that's been going on with my dad's health--" His voice faded into the background as Jyn's head spun. Move out? She could barely afford the rent of this place, let alone most of the apartments on the market now. This was just another thing piled on top of a month's worth of shitty things. 

_Fuck_.

Zoning back into the conversation, Jyn heard, "...But yeah, I'm so sorry to bust this on you, Jyn. If there was any other way..." There was a helpless shrug in his silence. 

She mentally squared her shoulders. "That's okay, Manuel. I'll let you know when I've found a new place."

She sat there for a long time after the call ended, staring at nothing. Then she shook herself, grabbed her coat and keys, and headed out into the night.

It was cold, but not too cold: that kind of autumn wind which chilled your cheeks and fingers enough that you felt exhilarated, but didn't each your core as long as you were walking fast enough. Tendrils of her hair were tugged out of her low bun, and leaves twirled in a foxtrot across the pavement.

Jyn plunged her cold hands deep into her pockets as she turned down another corner and trudged on. Thoughts were tripping through her head - maybe if she got another job-- But that was stupid - she worked full-time already, she needed enough energy to live, and what was the point in paying rent for an apartment if she was never home anyway?

She walked and walked. And walked a little further, til her mind was empty and she was chilled to the bone.

Then she turned around and walked home.

***

The locked clicked open and she almost fell inside, ushered by a gasp of freezing air. Shutting the door and peeling off her coat, she hung it on a hook and dragged her exhausted body into the kitchen. Her phone was blinking that she had new notifications. _Huh._ She hadn't realised she'd left it behind.

If Cassian had called while she was out, he was gonna be _pissed_.

Sure enough, two missed calls.

Oh boy. Better call now than suffer even more later. She braced herself, and called him back. 

"Were you out walking again?" was the first thing words she heard as the call connected.

"Lovely to talk to you too--"

"Jyn, it's _past eleven!_ If you're going to be out this late, the least you can do is _carry your goddamn phone!!_ " Oh yeah, he was pissed alright.

She rolled her eyes. "How do you even know I was out? I could've been in the shower."

There was a pause. "Jyn.... You take 5 minute showers. My second call was _an hour_ after the first one."

Okay, he had a point there. "Good detective work, Andor. But, as you can tell, I'm fine. Absolutely fucking perfect, in fact."

That riled him all the way back up again. "Yeah, okay, you're fine _now_ , but this is the _exeception to the rule_ \--"

Oh god. He was speaking in italics. "Cassian... Manuel's selling the apartment."

His tirade raced on. "--And I've told you this a _thousand_ times, but do you have a single _iota_ of concern for your own _personal goddamn safety_ \-- What?"

She smiled sadly into the receiver at his about-turn. "I have three months to find somewhere else to live."

There was a deafening silence at the other end of the line. Then... "What are you going to do?"

Letting all the air in her lungs go in a huge sigh, she slumped into a chair. "I honestly... don't know. With how the rents have been pushed up since I was last looking for a place... I might have to get another job."

"Oh, Jyn..." She could imagine Cassian's face right now. He'd have the most heartbroken look in those expressive eyes of his.

She sighed again and scrubbed at her tired eyes. "It's okay... It'll be a learning experience, I guess. And if my dad could do it raising me then I'm sure--"

She broke off as Cassian cleared his throat. "You could... You could always move in with me..."

***

There was a very, _very_ long silence after that. So long that Jyn thought she might have offended Cassian already, before even opening her mouth. But she had to speak her mind--

"Dude... Your apartment is tiny."

He was silent for a second. "It wouldn't be any trouble. You know I have the guest room..."

"Yeah but... I take up space. You're gonna hate me. You know how messy I am."

She could almost hear him shudder over the line. Yes, he knew very well how messy she was. One day he'd gotten so tired of it when he came around that he'd started cleaning her apartment himself - at least until she'd wrestled him bodily out the door and taken him to drown his rage in ice cream.

"I can... live with it if it keeps you from being _homeless_ , Jyn." He sighed, his voice taking on a pleading note. "Come on, we can work it out. And you'll only have to pay half-rent while you stay with me, so you won't have to get another job..."

Jyn closed her eyes and massaged her temples. This was gonna suck so bad-- But she couldn't refuse his wheedling tone. "Okay... But I'm gonna be looking for places the whole time I'm there, alright?"

His sigh of relief sounded like it was coming from right next to her ear - she could almost feel his breath. "Thank god. And think of it this way: you'll be saving me money as well! And you'll be living with someone who can actually cook! And--"

"Hey listen, Cassian," she interrupted him gently. "...Thank you."

Silence. Then, "Don't worry about it, Jyn. You know I'm always here for you."

Damn. She was so lucky to have a friend like Cassian.

Later, when they had finally finished the call, and Jyn was getting ready for bed, she stared into the mirror at her reflection.

There was one problem with this friendship, and one problem with this new rooming arrangement that she could see coming a mile away...

A problem which she'd been trying to deny existed for weeks, months. Maybe years. Definitely a problem which she wanted to avoid looking straight in the eye. But despite the blind eye she'd been furiously turning, and the ulcer she was developing from trying to not betray any sign of it to her friends, and above all, the fact that Jyn didn't even really _believe_ in love, except maybe in the case of her parents--

Jyn Erso was still utterly and completely in love with Cassian Andor.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bodhi laughs at Jyn's foolish ways. 
> 
> Jyn moves into Cassian's apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaahh i'm so sorry i haven't updated for a hot sec and i feel rlly bad! in my defence it's exam szn rn so i'm just a bit drained all the time lol... but here's another chapter for u, apologies bc it's a bit short and possibly a bit shit but i only had 40 minutes sleep last night sooooo... (i'm gonna try have the next chapter done asap tho!!)
> 
> also apologies for always writing my notes w rlly lazy grammar and spelling i feel like it's a bit dumb but like,, i'm too lazy to write this longhand after writing a whole-ass chapter in the queen's english (plus my stories are never beta-read so if u wanna correct anything pls do!!)

Bodhi was shitting himself laughing. Seriously, like he was about to fall off his chair in the middle of this café, and Jyn wanted to die, or maybe strangle him.

Her adoptive brother gasped, and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. "A-and what exactly--?" A giggle erupted and he had to start again. "W-what in _God's name_ made you think--" he choked "--think this was going to w-work?"

Jyn scowled. "I'm never confessing a secret to you ever again."

Sighing happily, Bodhi straightened so he was sitting properly in his chair. "You're such an idiot. You could've come and stayed with me."

Jyn picked at a pulled thread on her jeans. "Yeah, but..." She lifted her head a little, squinting at the abandoned foam lining the bottom of her coffee cup so she didn't have to meet Bodhi's eyes. "You and Luke are so happy, and I'd feel like I was intruding... And plus," she said, getting defensive now, "I wasn't planning on making anyone take me in at all! I was just gonna find another apartment, maybe get another job..." Bodhi gave a sympathetic hum at this. They'd had to watch as their father worked himself into the ground to support them. "Cassian was just the first person I told, and he sounded so sure it would work..." Jyn sighed and slid down in her chair.

Bodhi's natural sympathetic nature had clearly overcome his initial hysterics, because he reached out and gently placed his warm hand over Jyn's. "Well, it's happened now, I guess, and you'll just have to live with it."

Jyn's baleful eyes met his from under lowered brows. "Thanks for those comforting words, _sensei_.

Serious now, he gave her a earnest frown. "It's true though. I still think... If you'd just _tell_ him--"

"No. Negative. _Nooooope._ He's my _best friend_. I can't ruin that--"

Her brother's eyes fixed on something over her right shoulder and widened. He gave her a tiny, frantic shake of the head. Jyn shut her mouth, opened it again to ask what he'd seen--

"What can't you ruin?" asked Cassian.

Jyn whipped her head around-- and then tried to act nonchalant. "Tried" being the relevant word here; her efforts weren't helped by the fact that (despite having known Cassian since a disastrous group project in their first year of university) Jyn had recently been afflicted with a sensation a bit like being punched in the gut every time she laid eyes on her best friend. Today was no different. His hair - looking soft as ever, and just a little too long - was flopping forward over his brow, and his brown eyes were bright and attentive-- Why did he have to be so fucking _adorable_? It was enraging.

Cassian blinked and Jyn realised she was scowling. Oops.

Rearranging her face into what was hopefully not a pained rictus, she attempted to act natural. "Oh hey, Cass. When did you get here?" His eyes narrowed at her not-very-subtle evasion techniques, so she went with the slightly more honest option; answering the question (kind of). "It's stupid... Don't worry about it."

He looked at her curiously as he sat down in the chair next to her, but thankfully he let it rest. 

***

30 advertisements, 20 phone calls and two-and-three-quarter months later, Jyn still didn't have a new apartment. So, resigned to her own personal torture, she organised a time when Bodhi and Luke would be able to help her move and then set to packing up all her things. 

Cassian was a bit grumpy when he found out she was asking her brother and his boyfriend to help her move into _his_ house.

"Don't be a dumbass, Cass," she grinned into the mouthpiece of her cell. "You work like twenty thousand hours. And Luke has a truck." Bodhi's boyfriend had a predilection for large vehicles; go figure that he and Bodhi were both pilots.

And so it was, after much grumbling, that Jyn found herself one Thursday night, completely moved in to Cassian's apartment while he was still out, working late. And it was.... weird. She'd been here too many times to count, but this was entirely new territory. She sat on her bed in the guest room, watching as the sun faded into twilight obscurity through the window and as the tiny room was cast into gloom, and _hoped_ that it would all work out. 

When Cassian got back late that night he found Jyn fast asleep, fully clothed and sprawled on top of her bed. He grinned, pulled a blanket over her, shut her bedroom door very gently, and left her to it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jyn and Cassian settle in.
> 
> Shit happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what's up fellas!! i have 1 exam left and then i'm freeee and i'm so pumped tbh
> 
> here's another chapter for u
> 
> hope u enjoy ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

CRASH.

Jyn lurched awake. Opening gummy eyelids, she stared up at the ceiling–- a ceiling that wasn’t hers.

 _Oh right._ She was at Cassian’s. She closed her eyes.

Then they shot open again. _What was that noise?_

Rolling upright, she took a moment to gather her energy. Man… She must have been really tired. Too tired to even undress, she noted as she looked down at her crumpled shirt and jeans. At least with her dress sense it wouldn’t look too out of place. Jyn tended to aim for the shabby end of “shabby-chic” style.

She pushed herself off the bed and stretched, joints popping. Sun was pouring in through the window - it must’ve been early afternoon, at least. _Thank god it’s my day off…_

She really ought to check out what that noise was. Quickly scraping her escaped hair back into a messy bun, she headed to the door; it clicked open, and she peered into the narrow corridor. Nothing here…

There wasn’t anything that seemed likely to have made the noise in the living room, either, but the kitchen was another story. 

“Uh…”

The kitchen was strewn with broken glass, and what looked like some kind of batter. On the floor, on the walls… There was a bit of batter smeared on Cassian’s nose when he looked up from where he was collecting glass shards with brush and shovel, and she wanted to–-

Better stop that thought there.

Cassian blinked up at her. “Oh, hi, Jyn. Did you have a good sleep?”

Jyn stared. 

Under her gaze, he blushed a slow and delicate pink.

“What? What the hell happened?”

He cleared his throat-– and then did it again. “I, uh, was baking.”

“But… You’re good at cooking…? This is something _I_ would do.” Cassian was good at everything, honestly. He did it all with a kind of gracefulness that Jyn only dreamt of achieving. Not that she was clumsy; years of martial arts training had given her the poise of a fighter. But Jyn, however she tried, was not good at cooking. That was Cassian’s area. Or was usually, at least…

Cassian scratched his head. “I think the bowl must have had a crack in it or something, because when I put turned on the electric beater…” He made a little explosion gesture with his hands. “My mother would tell me that’s what I get for not mixing with my own two hands. But I wanted to have something ready for you when you woke up…”

He looked so forlorn kneeling on the floor in the ruins of his creation. “It’s all right,” Jyn said, her heart aching a little. “I’ll help you clean up, and then you can prove yourself by making your best empanadas while I sit somewhere very far away from any electrical appliances.”

Cassian cracked a smile. _That’s better_ , thought Jyn, grabbing a cloth from under the sink and squatting to start wiping up the batter. 

***

Days passed, and Jyn and Cassian settled into the rhythm of living together. 

Or mostly, anyway. Jyn had to get used to containing her mess to just her room; Cassian had to sacrifice his peace of mind every time she had a project for work. (Jyn could only concentrate when she had music playing, and Jyn’s taste in music was. Very. Loud.)

And of course there was the fact that Jyn was still getting that winded feeling when she looked Cassian straight in the eye. And some nights she lay awake thinking about him in the next room, and she felt a little empty and a little too full at the same time, and her heart and throat and body hurt for the lack of him.

But for the most part, it was fun. A bit like an extended sleepover really, where she saw her best friend every day, and he cooked meals for them like he used to sometimes, when she’d crash at his house after they’d been out drinking and dancing all night. They didn’t do that anymore, now they had jobs and bills to pay. But the companionship was all that had mattered anyway.

Jyn had never had flatmates, had only living with her father and mother, and then with her father and Bodhi, to compare to this. And while living alone had had its benefits, she much preferred this.

Most of the time, anyway.

Jyn had arrived home very late that night; she was working at the local university on the IT crew, and they’d had to fix an issue which was preventing students from accessing their accounts. Finally, around midnight, they’d resolved the problem, and Jyn had headed home, ready for bed.

She let herself into the apartment, and turned into the narrow corridor where her and Cassian’s rooms were. But as she passed the bathroom, she realised the door was open, with the shower running. Cassian had been working late as well, she remembered. _He mustn’t have shut it properly_ , she thought, reaching for the handle to shut the door.

But as she started pulling the door closed, the flow of water stopped, and the curtain drew back. Her best friend stepped out of the shower, and Jyn froze. 

Time stopped.

 _Oh god…_ She could see every line on his lean, fit body. Rivulets of water streamed down his back, glistened on his shoulders as he reached for a towel–

Jyn must have made a noise, because he whipped around, covering himself with the towel. His eyes widened.

Jyn gulped. “Y-you left the door open,” she said, voice cracking. Cassian was blushing, and _oh my god, he really does blush all over_ -– She swallowed, cleared her throat, choked out “ _I’mreallysorryI’mgoingtoleavenow!_ ”, and promptly slammed the door.

Later, as Jyn was lying on her bed, trying to scrape the image of Cassian, naked and dripping, from her mind - unsurprisingly, this was hard to do when she was simultaneously trying to savour the sight - she heard a soft knock on her door.

But Jyn just lay there. She couldn’t face him right now. Might not ever be able to face him ever again if she didn’t erase that _goddamn_ memory–-

After a few moments, she heard him turn, and slowly pad back to his room. There was a gentle click - his door shutting. It sounded very final.

Jyn stayed where she was, staring at the ceiling. As she followed a long crack in the plaster, over and over, she took the glimpse of Cassian, and her feelings about it, and she folded them up very small, placed them in a box, and pushed that box to the very back of her mind. Then she got undressed, climbed under the covers, and tried to think about nothing at all, until she finally drifted off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath. And that, Dear Reader, is all I’m gonna say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> APOLOGIES TO MY READERS, PLEASE FORGIVE ME FOR:
> 
> 1) it’s been MONTHS. _MONTHS._ and my excuse is really that i’ve been distracted by life - first i had exams, then more exams, then summer work! and then the next year started, the work began again... anyway, i suck, and i pretty much forgot to write. i beg your forgiveness
> 
> 2) this is a short chapter. i reached the end, and i thought either i can stop here, at a place i really like, or i can keep going and maybe ruin it. so yeah, i was a coward and stopped but i really like this part and i hope you guys do too
> 
> anyways, here (finally) is the next chapter!!

When Jyn stepped out of her room the next morning, it was with squared shoulders and an air of fierce determination. She was going to get through breakfast if it killed her. Memories of smooth, damp skin had been grappled into submission, and she had a cheery smile at the ready--

The cheery smile was already somewhat fixed by the time she walked into the kitchen. She was feeling a bit hot under the collar too... _It's just the heat_ , she thought savagely, ignoring the glimpse of overcast skies she'd seen out the window a minute ago, and the fact that it was the literal dead of winter.

Cassian had his dark head bent over the stove - thank God - so Jyn took a moment to rest her face. She poured herself coffee, leaving out her usual splash of milk. It was a black coffee kind of day. Then she dropped wearily onto one of the stools lined up against the counter island. She hadn't done very much sleeping last night... Cassian began to turn towards her, so she hiked up her smile again. He had his mouth open like he was going to say something, but when he saw her face (or rather, what her face was doing) he shut it rather abruptly. His face scrunched into a concerned expression.

"Hi Cassian!" she said brightly. Her best friend blanched.

***

Things continued rather like that for the rest of the day. They both had a day off (unfortunately for Jyn's facial muscles), so she remained determinedly cheery, even as her cheeks began to ache. Cassian looked in turns worried and mildly afraid, and by the time dinner rolled around he'd receded into near-silence.

As they sat at the table, eating Cassian’s finest spaghetti bolognese, Jyn talked breathlessly about how her team was doing on solving the many problems of the university’s computer system. Cassian ate very little. (Jyn ate even less, but then she didn’t really have time to eat.) At last, Cassian cleared his throat and broke into Jyn’s comprehensive description of how she’d managed a compiling error in the servers yesterday.

“Er... Jyn...” He seemed to be struggling to get his sentence out. “You... ah.... you don’t need to worry about what... erm... what happened last night. It’s really... not a big deal.”

Jyn pasted the smile bigger on her face. “I wasn’t worrying! Everything’s fine!”

Cassian stared at her. “Jyn.”

Her smile was starting to feel a bit ferocious. “What?”

The corner of Cassian’s mouth quirked upwards. “Jyn... The only time I’ve ever seen you smile this much is when you’re trying to act natural.”

Jyn frowned. “What?”

Cassian grinned. It was so bright, Jyn forgot what they were talking about for a second. “That’s better,” he laughed. “Just forget anything ever happened, okay? I really don’t mind.” His smile was shyer now. “You’re the person I trust the most. If anyone was going to walk in on me while I’m standing in all my naked glory, I’d rather it be you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a small extra apology: the tech speak in this chapter is pretty much garnered from stuff my flatmate says (he’s doing software engineering). ie, if it sounds fake it’s bc i have no bloody clue what i’m talking about


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jyn tries to make up for Extremely Awkward Behaviour™. She and Cassian.... watch a murder mystery?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> howdy! i’m back again and it’s only been uhhhh three months (i’m so sorry)
> 
> i’m always considering whether i should change POV at some point in my stories because it’s always nice to get an insight into the other person’s feelings - and there’s always another person because i’m always writing ship fics because i’m a _massive sop_ \- but sometimes i feel like that’s a bit of an easy way out (especially if it wasn’t originally a changing-POV set-up) so this time i’m gonna try stay in Jyn’s POV the whole time... y’all can judge my success at that for yourselves, i guess!
> 
> as always, hope u enjoy this one!

Jyn felt like she probably needed to make it up to Cassian after freaking out so incredibly obviously about seeing his naked, ( _dripping_ ) ass, so she proposed a movie night. His choice.

Which was a mistake.

Cassian liked to experiment with his film picks. Watching an old classic? Had its time and place. But what if one of these obscure indie movies on this streaming website plastered with ads for “Hot Russian Singles in Your Area” was the next great classic?

Personally, Jyn had her doubts. But she kept them to herself because if she said something even slightly critical he’d instantly give up on his choice and make her pick instead, something she liked better. It had happened before. God, he was much too nice for his own good. She hoped he didn’t get taken advantage of at work. He did seem to work unreasonable hours, but she’d thought that was just part of being a doctor...

 _Stop fussing, Jyn,_ she thought furiously. _He’s a grown man!_

“Okay, we’re ready!” Cassian had found his movie.

***

As far as she could tell, this was one of those small town detective movies where the village has a disproportionate number of criminals and some poor detective has to risk his (or in this case, her) life in the face of a psychopathic gardener or something. Everyone had Swedish accents and the slightly irregular faces of actors who aren’t in the big leagues. It wasn’t bad though, she had to admit, as she rubbed her hands together for warmth. Cassian’s little box of a living room wasn’t very well-insulated.

Attention caught by the movement, Cassian turned to look at her, and blinked. “Are you cold?”

Jyn nodded, then started to move half-heartedly. “I guess I should get a sweater—“

Cassian’s eyes brightened, like he’d remembered something. “No, no, stay there. I’ve got something better!” He jogged out of the room and presumably to his own, coming back ten seconds later with the largest, fluffiest blanket Jyn had ever seen.

“Jesus! Cass, come clean, did you skin the Abominable Snowman for this thing?”

He grinned. “Nope. My abuela gave it to me when I started uni. Said she didn’t want me getting pneumonia in one of those pokey student flats.” He flopped back down on the sofa next to Jyn. “You’ll have to share this with me though. Chivalry only goes so far.” Fair enough too, given the living room was cold as balls. Anyway, that blanket could surely warm a family of five.

“That’s fine— Now gimme a corner before I freeze!”

Cassian chuckled as he wrapped the blanket around the both of them. Jyn could have moaned. This was like being wrapped in a cloud. (Not the disappointing scientific ones her dad had told her about, but the lovely fluffy storybook ones. _You’re getting soft in your old age_ , she thought, and couldn’t really care.)

Another lovely thing about this cloud was that it contained Cassian. The whole left side of his body was pressed against the whole right side of hers within their blanket cocoon. Nice.

She took a while to zone back in to the film.

***

DI Sarah Furlowe was heading to the scene of the second murder in Little Readings when Jyn realised that Cassian had fallen asleep. The film was actually quite good, and Cassian had the attention span for the most meaningless movie drivel, so he must’ve been rather tired. Hardly surprising, considering the hours he worked.

Jyn was pretty tired herself, after a sleepless night battling images of Cassian’s bare— Well anyway, she hadn’t slept much.

Cassian’s head was lolling against the sofa back, his face relaxed. Unbidden, the memory of earlier that night drifted to the surface of Jyn’s mind. “If anyone was going to walk in on me while I’m standing in all my naked glory, I’d rather it be you.” Goddamnit. She needed to stop trying to read signs that weren’t there.

At that moment, Cassian’s heavy head tipped sideways so that it landed on her shoulder. He mumbled something indistinct, and under the blanket his hand started moving around like he was trying to find something. Jyn was frozen in place, barely breathing, as he nudged her hand where it was resting on her thigh under the blanket. Cassian, still asleep, grabbed her hand and, fumbling a little, managed to interlace their fingers. Then he settled back into restful slumber, his head still on her shoulder, warm breath tickling her neck.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and all twelve Apostles.

***

The movie ended. It was the gardener. DI Furlowe got a promotion and a saucy wink from her Chief Inspector, one of which she received gracefully, repelling the other with cool dignity. _What a woman_ , thought Jyn. Cassian was still asleep, his dark hair falling across his face. He was still holding Jyn’s hand.

Knowing she couldn’t possibly move an inch, Jyn settled in to wait.

Five minutes later, she was asleep, her head leaning against her best friend’s.

***

She was being carried. Someone had an arm under her shoulders and another under her knees, and her arms were wrapped around his neck.

“Cass?” she murmured. “That you?”

“Yes. Now hush.” He laid her down on something soft. “Go back to sleep.”

She was all too willing to oblige.

As she drifted away again, she felt the gentle press of something on her forehead, then he moved away and there was the gentle click of a door closing.

 _A kiss..._ Then she was asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story continues...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello again! i’m being strangely productive as a means of procrastinating all the other things i need to do, and so i have a whole ‘nother chapter and not an ounce of patience to save it for later...
> 
> and therefore, enjoy!

“And then he kissed you?”

For some reason, Bodhi didn’t sound very surprised. What he _did_ sound was gleeful.

“Yeah... At least I’m pretty sure he did.” Jyn squinted at her brother. “What’s that look for, hot shit?”

Bodhi cackled. “Nothing, nothing... I’m just surrounded by idiots.”

***

Life continued, as it has a habit of doing. Jyn went to work, and so did Cassian. He cooked dinner, and she avoided kitchen implements at all costs. They watched more obscure movies, some of them good, most of them utter shit, in Jyn’s opinion. She made Cassian watch Die Hard, since it was the Christmas season. They huddled under the yeti blanket and Cassian hooked his ankle around one of hers. “God, your feet are _frozen_ ,” she hissed.

He winced. “Sorry!” But he didn’t remove it.

His feet warmed up eventually. But he still didn’t move.

In fact, things like that kept happening. Brushing shoulders, knocking knees under the kitchen table. Several more times they fell asleep on the sofa together and woke up in various states of entanglement. Sometimes she would surface at the foggy edge of slumber to find him carrying her to bed again. Jyn hadn’t really ever noticed Cassian being this tactile in the years she’d known him; she wondered about it, but ultimately put it down to the close quarters.

Bodhi was working on Christmas, and Jyn didn’t have any other family to go to, so she just hung out at home. Cassian had a shift - “Illness waits for no public holiday!” he’d decreed as he left - so she just made ramen noodles (pretty much the whole of her repertoire) and attempted to practice some aikido moves in the living room. This had variable success, as the room was a glorified closet.

She was doing a (very cramped) series of rolls as she heard Cassian let himself in. Springing up, bokken (a sword-shaped staff) in hand, she slashed through a few motions. She heard a small choke from the doorway, and turned.

Cassian was standing there, satchel over his shoulder, and staring. As Jyn gazed at him, he slowly flushed a soft pink. “Sorry,” he said, a little hoarsely, she thought. “I knew you could do that stuff but I’ve never actually seen you do it.”

Jyn felt a bit self-conscious. “Yeah, I managed not to break the TV or anything...”

Still a little pink, Cassian loosened his collar. “You looked pretty in-control to me...” He coughed. “That might be the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.” Whirling around suddenly, he headed for the kitchen. “Gottagomakedinnerbye!”

Jyn scratched her head. _That was weird._ Shrugging, she headed back to her room for a change of clothes and a towel.

In the tiny mirror in the bathroom, a red-faced, sweaty girl with hair escaping from her low bun peered out. _Ugh_ , thought Jyn. Cassian had probably been shocked by how awful she looked.

She chose not to think about why her appearance should matter so much when it never had before.

She was not thinking so hard about it, in fact, when she was rinsing the conditioner out of her hair, that she didn’t notice the soft knock on the door. Turning the shower off, she pulled back the curtain and stepped out.

“Oh _holy fuck_ , not again!”

Cassian was gaping at her, one slack hand on the doorknob.

Jyn looked down at herself. Oh God. This was like a full frontal nude scene in a porno. And she was _wet_.

“This is karma, I guess,” she sighed. “Okay, let’s get this over with.” She turned on the spot, a complete circle. “Now you’ve seen everything!” Grinning crookedly at Cassian, she saw his hand slip off the doorknob. He swallowed, cleared his throat. From his neck up to his hairline he had flushed bright red. His eyes looked black under the dim glow of the bathroom light. Were his pupils dilated?

 _Don’t be silly_ , Jyn thought, and self-consciously reached for her towel.

“You— You don’t need to,” croaked Cassian from the doorway. He cleared his throat again as she blinked at him. “What I mean is... You don’t have any reason to be self-conscious.” He gestured vaguely at all of her. “It’s all, uh, pretty up to scratch.” With that, he beat a hasty retreat.

Jyn blinked at the door he’d slammed behind him. _What the hell..._ Absentmindedly, she dried her hair, then moisturised. Was he just saying that she had all the regular body parts in the right places? Or was he saying she had a nice body? _You’d think a doctor would be used to looking at people in the nude..._

Suddenly something clicked. _I’m a fucking idiot._ There was a pretty straightforward reason why he’d be uncomfortable looking at her naked body...

Wrapping her towel around said body and stalking out of the bathroom, her warpath took her down the corridor and then into the kitchen. Cassian was stirring something on the stove, and looking a hundred miles away. She cleared her throat and he jumped.

“Cassian Andor,” she inquired, an element of threat in her voice. “Are you attracted to me?”

Her best friend sighed, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and shook his head. Jyn felt her heart sink to the floor.

“Jyn Erso,” said Cassian, softly and full of regret. “I’m in love with you.”

A few things happened very quickly after that. Jyn’s mouth fell open. She dropped her towel. “For _fuck’s sake_ ,” said Cassian, with feeling. “You’re going to catch a cold—“ He bent to pick it up...

As he straightened, making as if to give her the towel back, Jyn took a deep breath. She was having trouble not breaking into a naked victory dance. Or possibly smacking this man in his beautiful face.

“I love you too, you _fucking moron_!” she whooped, and kissed him.

Cassian dropped the towel.


End file.
